Owing to the acute shortage of fabric and labor, the full set of uniform items will not be available to the incoming recruits in the Air Force and Space Force. The Defense Logistics Agency is working with the supplier to restore full production volume, but the crippling consequences of the pandemic on the global supply chain are proving too formidable to easily overcome.
According to the Air Force news release, they began issuing basic military training uniforms comprising of two blue shirts – one long sleeve and one short sleeve – along with a pair of slacks or trousers, starting November. Generally, new recruits to the force are given two of each shirt type and three pairs of trousers for men and two pairs of slacks for women.
To compensate for the missing uniform items, the Air Force plans to increase the stipend of these training graduates slightly so they can buy them on their own from the Army or Air Force Exchange Service when they arrive at their next school or posting. As for the reservists, they will be given missing items subject to availability on arrival at their home units.
The only supplier to the Air Force is the Greensboro-based Burlington Industries that is working with Defense Logistics Agency to combat the ongoing crisis in uniform materials and labor to reinstate previous production volume. According to the Air Force, Burlington Industries provides the worsted and poly-wool dress fabric that is used in all US military apparel.
The coronavirus pandemic is believed to be the major reason behind the widespread shortage of materials and labor leading to disruption in the supply chain. The Air Force anticipates that the sudden increase in production cost post-pandemic and the shortage of materials will greatly affect the availability of uniforms in the third quarter of 2022.
It’s not just the Air Force and Space Force that are facing uniform shortages. The Coast Guard in 2020 didn’t have adequate operational uniforms due to the covid-19 breakout in factories of Puerto Rico. While the department managed to replenish those uniforms shortly, the coast guards soon found themselves devoid of blue service jackets and pants that were tough to procure given the pandemic-induced disruption in the supply chain.
Lt. Cmdr. Sonya Leibowitz, a spokeswoman for the Coast Guard Office of Logistics, said that the suppliers of blue uniform jackets and pants were facing labor shortages during the pandemic and therefore, couldn’t keep up with the regular demand. To assuage the crisis, Navy uniform contracts were temporarily converted to meet the needs of the Coast Guards.
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